Kingdom Building
August 5, 2019
Scripture Reading: Isaiah 1:1 10-20
Hear the word of the Lord,
you rulers of Sodom!
Listen to the teaching of our God,
you people of Gomorrah!
What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices?
says the Lord;
I have had enough of burnt-offerings of rams
and the fat of fed beasts;
I do not delight in the blood of bulls,
or of lambs, or of goats.
Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;
remove the evil of your doings
from before my eyes;
cease to do evil,
learn to do good;
seek justice,
rescue the oppressed,
defend the orphan,
plead for the widow. –Isaiah 10:10-12, 16-17
The recent thoughts and prayers discussion in the USA regarding mass shootings has led people of faith to consider our prayer lives and the purpose of prayer. Prayer is meaningful in many ways but ultimately it draws us closer to God aligning ourselves with God so that our actions better reflect God in our lives. Today’s scripture charges us to consider the purpose of our worship. Is our worship designed to express our love for God or to entertain ourselves? Is our worship not only a time to reconnect with God as an individual, but as a community of faith at one with God? Finally, is our worship a source of inclusion or exclusion of all of God’s children? Do we worship to prove our privilege status apart from others or to gain spiritual nourishment to work toward being one with all God’s diverse children?
Isaiah speaking the words God gave him chastises God’s people for evil-inspired self-righteous, privileged worship and challenges us to remove the evil of our doings by seeking justice for the very people we scorn. While we no longer compete for who can bring the finest bull to the altar, we may be guilty of worshipping our opinion of ourselves as compared to the status of others.
Our worship must be a time of soul searching as we spiritually wash ourselves as individuals and communities of faith and see ourselves as God sees us. What evil are we fostering by either omission or commission, what good are we doing, are we making the difference in this world God has called us to make, are we seeking justice for all, rescuing the oppressed, defending orphans, pleading for widows or their equivalent in our world today?
Prayer: Lord, help us see injustice as you see it and guide us in bringing our world to your justice and righteousness. Amen.
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.